Jurassic Park III

"No force on earth or heaven could get me on that island."

Years after the events of Jurassic Park, Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) has become famous due to his actions on Isla Nublar.  He is trying to use his celebrity to get money to continue his current dig.  At the dig he is met by Paul (Macy) and Amanda (Leoni) Kirby, who want to take him along on a special fly-over the island of Isla Sorna to see the dinosaurs that are living there.  He reluctantly agrees and takes along his assistant Billy Brennan (Nivola).

However, the Kirby's have not been completely honest.  They intend to land on the island to locate their son Eric (Morgan) who has been missing for 8 weeks.  Their calls to Eric attract a Spinosaurus which kills a few members of their group and causes the plane to crash.  With no other choice, Grant leads the group to find a way off the island.  They stumble onto a Velociraptor nest and are soon on the run from the raptors.  Can they find Eric and avoid the carnivorous dinosaurs?


After the success of Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Universal Studios wanted to make another installment in the series.  Steven Spielberg was involved in another project and turned over directing duties to Joe Johnston.  Michael Crichton only wrote 2 "Jurassic Park" novels, which served as the basis of the other films.  While he was not involved in this film, some of the plot points from the books were used this film.  The script, written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor, used some ideas that were planned for the other films, while crafting a new story.

Once again paleontologist Jack Horner served as a consultant on the film.  This time he even gets name-checked in the film.  Horner served as the inspiration for the character of Dr. Alan Grant, who returned for this film (again portrayed by Sam Neill).  In this film, they introduce a predator even bigger than the Tyrannosaurus Rex: Spinosaur.  The Spinosaur is the dinosaur on the poster for the film.  The film also focused on Pteranodon, who originally appeared at the end of the second film.

This film is darker than it's predecessors and loses some of the fun in the process.  It is still a mindless thriller, but the suspense and wonder is gone.  It doesn't want the audience to be awestruck by the dinosaurs, it just wants to raise the stakes.  This is the only film that isn't based around the park.  It's isn't bad, it just isn't as good as the rest of the series.

After the poor showing of this film, it took 14 years for a new installation in the series: Jurassic World (in 2015).


Jurassic Park III (2001) 92 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence
Director: Joe Johnston
Starring:Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant
William H. Macy as Paul Kirby
Tea Leoni as Amanda Kirby
Alessandro Nivola as Billy Brennan
Trevor Morgan as Eric Kirby
Michael Jeter as Udesky
John Diehl as Cooper
Bruce A. Young as Nash
Laura Dern as Ellie

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

"I'll be right back. I give you my word."

"But you *never* keep your word!"

Four years after surviving the dinosaurs on the island of Isla Nublar, Dr. Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) is again approached by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough).  Hammond, the former CEO of InGen, reveals that there was a second Jurassic Park location, "Site B."  Site B was housed on the island of Isla Sorna and was the location where the dinosaurs were cloned.  After the first park was overrun, the second site was also abandoned, but the dinosaurs have thrived on their own.  Hammond wants to send a team to the island to document what they find and help preserve the island as it is.

Malcolm refuses, until he learns that his girlfriend Dr. Sarah Hardin (Moore), is already on the island as the expert paleontologist.  Malcolm reluctantly joins photographer Nick Van Owens (Vaughn) and engineer Eddie Carr (Schiff) on the island.  Shortly after finding Dr. Hardin, they discover Malcolm's teenage daughter Kelly Curtis (Chester) hid in their trailer and is also on the island.  They soon learn that an even larger team is also on the island, this team is led by Hammond's nephew Peter Ludlow (Howard), the new CEO of InGen.  Ludlow's team plans to gut the island and start a new park in San Diego.  He hired big game hunters Roland Tembo (Postlethwaite) and Ajay Sidhu (Jason) to lead the capture and survival of the team, while palentologist Dr. Robert Burke (Duffy) provides the dinosaur expertise.  The teams are forced to stick together for survival after a Tyrannosaurus Rex attack destroys most of their equipment.  Can they survive long enough to get off the island.


After the success of Michael Crichton's novel "Jurassic Park," and the success of it's film adaptation Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg, people (including Spielberg) began clamoring for a sequel.   In 1995, Crichton obliged with "The Lost World."  While Crichton finished the novel, Spielberg and screenwriter David Koepp began coming up with their own ideas for the film sequel.  They used the premise and some of the characters from Crichton's novel, and then used their own ideas and characters to round out the story (including some ideas / scenes that were planned for the first film).

Once again Jack Horner served as a consultant on this film.  The character of Dr. Robert Burke is based on paleontologist Dr. Robert Bakker, who is Horner's rival, and actor Thomas F. Duffy resembles him.  Only 4 characters from the first film return for this one.  Like the novel, the film focuses on Ian Malcolm this time.  Richard Attenborough appears at the beginning and ending of the film in a brief cameo.  Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello, who played Lex and Tim Murphy, also appear in a brief cameo.

This film introduces the dinosaurs much earlier in the story.  And it featured more T rexes and more Velociraptors than the original.  Once again it is a suspenseful film and the dinosaurs are impressive.  It is not quite as good as the original, but it is still an interesting film.

This film did not do as well as it's predecessor, but was still successful enough to create 2 more sequels: Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World.


The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) 129 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense sci-fi terror and violence
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm
Julianne Moore as Dr. Sarah Hardin
Pete Postlethwaite as Roland Tembo
Arliss Howard as Peter Ludlow
Vince Vaughn as Nick Van Owen
Vanessa Lee Chester as Kelly Curtis
Peter Stormare as Dieter Stark
Harvey Jason as Ajay Sidhu
Richard Schiff as Eddie Carr
Thomas F. Duffy as Dr. Robert Burke

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

"I shall never relinquish my sword for a ring."

After a zombie outbreak hits London, Mr. Bennet (Dance) sends his five daughters: Jane (Heathcote), Elizabeth (James), Mary (Brady), Kitty (Waterhouse), and Lydia (Bamber), to China to learn to martial arts and weaponry.  Their mother wants them to find good husbands, and she is thrilled when a nearby property is purchased by the wealthy and single Mr. Bingley (Booth).  He is joined by his sophisticated sisters and his friend, the renowned zombie killer Colonel Darcy (Riley).  Bingley is smitten with Jane, while Darcy and Elizabeth immediately dislike each other.

A zombie attack breaks up the party as the Bennet sisters quickly dispatch the invaders.  Soon, they are entertaining their cousin, Parson Collins (Smith).  Collins is not trained as a fighter and is seeking a bride, setting his sights on the disinterested Elizabeth.  The sisters are also introduced to Lieutenant Wickham (Huston), who has new ideas about the zombie outbreak.  Can the Bennet sisters navigate their love lives, while protecting their family from the zombie horde?


In 2009, writer Seth Grahame-Smith took Jane Austen's popular novel "Pride and Prejudice" and turned it into a zombie story, titled "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."  His version, which gives Austen a co-author credit, retains much of Austen's dialogue and plot, but added in the potential zombie apocalypse.  The result was successful enough to spawn other mashups, including Grahame-Smith's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."

Studios wanted to turn the novel into a film since late 2009.  It went through numerous directors and writers before settling on Burr Steers as both screenwriter and director.  Steers used the novel as guide, but made extensive changes to the story.

I love "Pride and Prejudice" and I enjoyed "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," so I was intrigued by this film.  The cast works well in their roles.  Lily James is a strong female lead.  Matt Smith is hilarious as Collins.  I normally detest the character, but Smith makes him bearable and even entertaining.

Definitely not for everyone.  Don't expect it to be exactly like the book, but it does still retain much of Austen's language.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) 108 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for zombie violence and action, and brief suggestive material
Director: Burr Steers
Starring: Lily James as Elizabeth Bennet
Sam Riley as Mr. Darcy
Jack Huston as Mr. Wickham
Bella Heathcote as Jane Bennet
Douglas Booth as Mr. Bingley
Matt Smith as Mr. Collins
Charles Dance as Mr. Bennet
Lena Headey as Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Suki Waterhouse as Kitty Bennet
Ellie Bamber as Lydia Bennet
Millie Brady as Mary Bennet
Sally Phillips as Mrs. Bennet

Jurassic Park

"So, what are you thinking?"

"We're out of a job."

"Don't you mean extinct?"

John Hammond (Attenborough), the CEO of InGen bio, wants to open a new theme park called Jurassic Park.  The park will feature live dinosaurs, cloned from prehistoric DNA, and state-of-the-art security features.  However, after a few incidents, his investors are nervous.  Before the park is allowed to open, they want a group of experts to sign off on the park.  The investors recruit their lawyer Donald Gennaro (Ferrero) and mathematician / chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcom (Goldblum), while Hammond invites noted paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Neill) and his colleague paleobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern).  The park is located on the island of Isla Nublar, off the coast of Costa Rica.

On the island, they are joined by Hammond's grandchildren: Lex (Richards) and Tim (Mazzello).  Tim loves dinosaurs and is thrilled to meet Dr. Grant.  As they begin a tour of the island, there are problems at the control center.  Disgruntled employee Dennis Nedry (Knight) sabotages the systems to steal valuable information.  With a strong storm approaching the island and most of the safety systems shut down, can they make it off the island alive?


In 1990, Michael Crichton wrote the novel "Jurassic Park."  Before the novel was released, the film rights were purchased by Universal Studios.  They expected the novel to be a big success, which it was, and hired Crichton to write the screenplay.  They brought in palentologist Jack Horner to serve as an advisor for the film.  Horner also served as the inspiration for the character of Dr. Grant in the novel.

The film differs from the novel in several places / ways.  Crichton's identified the most with the character of Dr. Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum.  Spielberg identified most with the character of John Hammond, and they made some changes to the character to make him more likeable in the film.  The fate of a few characters is different as well.  The cast is excellent and work well in their parts.  Goldblum reprised his role as Dr. Malcolm in The Lost World, and Sam Neill returned as Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park III.

I remember watching this film a few years after it came out and was terrified of the dinosaurs.  I am still impressed with the vision director Steven Spielberg and Crichton had for this film, and how well they were able to translate it to the screen.  The T-Rex was brought to life with animatronics.  It is the coolest dinosaur in the film, and the most easily recognizable.  The majority of the other dinosaurs were brought to life as puppets or CGI.  It is still impressive 20+ years later.

It is an iconic film.  It won 3 Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.  It was also named in AFI's Top 100 lists: 100 Years...100 Thrills.

In 1995 Crichton wrote a sequel, titled "The Lost World."  Two years later, it was adapted to film The Lost World: Jurassic Park, again with Spielberg in the director's chair.  To date, there have been 2 additional films in the Jurassic Park series: Jurassic Park III in 2001 and Jurassic World in 2015.

Jurassic Park (1993) 127 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for intense science fiction terror
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant
Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler
Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm
Richard Attenborough as John Hammond
Joseph Mazzello as Tim Murphy
Ariana Richards as Lex Murphy
Martin Ferrero as Donald Gennaro
Bob Peck as Robert Muldoon
Wayne Knight as Dennis Nedry
Samuel L. Jackson as Ray Arnold

The Hateful Eight

"You keep talking, Pete, and you're gonna talk yourself to death."

With a powerful blizzard approaching, 9 strangers seeks refuge in Minnie's Haberdashery.  The proprietors of the haberdashery, Minnie (Dana Gourrier) and Handsome Dave (Gene Jones), are visiting family and left their establishment in the hands of Bob (Bichir), their Mexican employee.  The other inhabitants are headed to the nearby town of Red Rock.  Bounty hunters John Ruth (Russell) and Major Marquis Warren (Jackson) are turning in bounties.  Warren's are corpses, while Ruth's is murderer Daisy Domergue (Leigh), who is handcuffed to him.  They arrived at Minnie's in a stagecoach driven by O.B. Jackson (Parks), in the company of the self-proclaimed new sheriff of Red Rock Chris Mannix (Goggins).  The hangman from Red Rock, Oswaldo Mobray (Roth), is also stranded.  Elderly General Sanford Smithers (Dern) is mourning the death of his son and preparing final arrangements for his burial.  And "cow puncher" Joe Gage (Madsen) is heading home to visit his mother.

They do not trust each other, but the blizzard forces them to co-exist.  Ruth is concerned that someone in the haberdashery is trying to free or steal his prisoner, and disarms everyone but Warren.  Warren is at odds with Mannix and Smithers, based on their actions in the Civil War.  With the battle lines drawn, can they all survive the blizzard?

This is director Quentin Tarantino's "8th" film, according to the opening credits.  If you've seen any of Tarantino's previous films, you know what to expect with this one.  Unlike his other films, this features mostly original music by composer Ennio Morricone.  They also utilized some unused songs Morricone wrote for the film The Thing (which starred Kurt Russell and served as an inspiration for this film).

Most of the film is confined to the Haberdashery, and the terrible weather outside forces the characters to remain in that space.  Early in the film, one of the characters talks about being patient, and they also ask the audience to be patient.  It takes 30 minutes to get all of the characters to the haberdashery and then utilizes the rest of it's 168 minute running time (the Roadshow version is 187 minutes) to set the stage and then repeatedly throw twists and turns and reveals (and some insight into the past).  It is a violent and bloody film, where no one is safe (so a typical Tarantino film).  There is also a significant amount of cursing throughout.

The cast is exceptional.  This is Samuel L. Jackson's 6 collaboration with Tarantino, but this is his first time to be the top billed actor.  Michael Madsen and Tim Roth both appeared in Tarantino's first film, and have each appeared in other Tarantino films (4 for Madsen, if you count Sin City, and 2 for Roth).  Russell appeared in Tarantino's Death Proof.  The rest of the cast are new.  Each character has a unique story and motivation, which is fully revealed by the end of the film, although in some cases you aren't sure if they are truthful or lying.  Each character gets a moment and the ensemble works well together.

The Hateful Eight (2015) 168 minutes
Rating: R for strong bloody violence, a scene of violent sexual content, language and some graphic nudity
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren "The Bounty Hunter
Kurt Russell as John Ruth "The Hangman"
Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue "The Prisoner"
Walter Goggins as Chris Mannix "The Sheriff"
Demian Bichir as Bob "The Mexican"
Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray "The Little Man"
Michael Madsen as Joe Gage "The Cow Puncher"
Bruce Dern as General Sanford Smithers "The Confederate"
James Parks as O.B. Jackson

Love & Friendship

"Facts are horrid things."

Since the death of her husband, Lady Susan Vernon (Beckinsale) has been staying with friends.  But after scandalous rumors circulate, she flees to her in-law's house.  Her brother-in-law, Charles (Edwards) is welcoming, but his wife Catherine (Greenwell) hates Lady Susan.  Lady Susan is bored with life on the estate and decides to find husbands for herself and her daughter Frederica (Clark).

Her pick for Frederica is the super wealthy but simple, Sir James Martin (Bennett).  Frederica has no interest in Sir James, despite her mother's best efforts.  Lady Susan turns her attention to Catherine's handsome brother Sir Reginald DeCourcy (Fleet).  With a little help from her American friend Alicia Johnson (Sevigny), can she get everything she wants?


The film is based on Jane Austen's epistolary novel "Lady Susan."  Austen wrote the novel, but it was not published until 1871 (50 years after Austen's death).  The novel is only 80 pages long and is not as well known as Austen's other published novels.  Prior to this film, I was not aware of the novel and added it to the list of novels I want to read.  The title of this film is taken from another of Austen's novels.

Director Whit Stillman made smart casting choices, and wrote a stellar screenplay.  The film moves at a decent pace and is much funnier than other film adaptations of Austen's novels.  In many ways it feels like a satire of British films, and it works well.  This is not the typical Austen adaptation.  A few times throughout the film, the words appear on screen (often to highlight a point).

Kate Beckinsale is great in the role of Lady Susan.  She is a cunning character and it is fun to watch her work.  She is the most interesting character at all times, and you can't wait to see how she will manipulate the situation her way.  The other standout is Tom Bennett as Sir James Martin.  From the first moment he is on screen, you can't help but laugh at his character.  In fact, his lines received the biggest laughs at the showing I attended.  The rest of the cast is good as well and game for everything that is thrown their way.  The costumes are beautiful, as is the music.

An entertaining film with a great cast, definitely worth checking out.

Love & Friendship (2016) 92 minutes
Director: Whit Stillman
Starring:Kate Beckinsale as Lady Susan Vernon
Chloe Sevigny as Alicia Johnson
Xavier Samuel as Reginald DeCourcy
Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson
Emma Greenwell as Catherine Vernon
Morfydd Clark as Frederica Vernon
James Fleet as Sir Reginald DeCourcy
Jemma Redgrave as Lacy DeCourcy
Tom Bennett as Sir James Martin
Justin Edwards as Charles Vernon
Jenn Murray as Lady Lucy Manwaring

The Man with the Golden Gun

"Ah! I've lost my charm!"

"Not from where I'm standing."

James Bond (Moore) receives a golden bullet with his 007 carved in it.  Golden bullets are used by renowned assassin Francisco Scaramanga (Lee), who also carries a golden gun.  MI6 believe the bullet is meant to intimidate Bond, so he is removed from his current case.  Bond decides to find Scaramanga and follows the trail to Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, he finds Scaramanga's mistress Andrea Anders (Adams) and gets some help from agent Mary Goodnight (Ekland) and Lieutenant Hip (Oh).  They learn that Scaramanga and his assistant Nick Nack (Villechaize) are behind the disappearance of a solar weapon.  Can Bond find and stop Scaramanga?


This is the 9th James Bond film.  It is the second to feature Roger Moore as Bond, and the 4th (and final) time for Guy Hamilton to direct (Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die).

Once again Moore is matched with an interesting and sinister villain.  Christopher Lee is great as Scaramanga, and this was Lee's favorite role.  The Bond girls were both Swedish models.  Maud Adams was a Bond girl again in Octopussy.  This film features an extended cameo with Clifton James' Sheriff J.W. Pepper.  Pepper was annoying and over-the-top in Live and Let Die, and that doesn't change in this film.  He is unnecessary and irritating.

Moore's previous Bond outing was a blaxploitation film, while this film brings in martial arts.  There are sumo wrestlers and much of the film takes place in Hong Kong (again reflecting popular genres of the time period).

The theme song "The Man with the Golden Gun" was written by John Barry and performed by Lulu.  It is universally disliked and is the only Bond theme song that didn't chart as a single.  It is also the raunchiest theme song of the series.

It is an ok Bond film... not the best, but not necessarily the worst.

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) 125 minutes
Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Roger Moore as James Bond
Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga
Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight
Maud Adams as Andrea Anders
Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack
Richard Loo as Hai Fat
Soon-Tek Oh as Lieutenant Hip

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

"Klaatu barada nikto!"

Around the world, people report seeing a flyer saucer.  The saucer eventually lands in Washington, D.C. and two figures emerge from the ship: humanoid Klaatu (Rennie) and robot Gort (Martin).  Klaatu is shot shortly after arriving, which causes Gort to destroy the guns and tanks that are surrounding them.  Klaatu is rushed to the Walter Reed Hospital, but before he tells Gort to stop.

Klaatu has a message for the world, but no one can agree how to proceed.  He is fed up with their petty squabbles and decides to see what life is like among the humans.  He takes up residence at a boarding house and immediately befriends widow Helen Benson (Neal) and her young son Bobby (Gray).  As the military looks for him and tries to pry open the flying saucer, Klaatu seeks an audience with Professor Jacob Barnhardt (Jaffe).  Can Klaatu complete his mission?


This film is based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates.  The story was originally published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1940.  The producers of the film wanted to use the story to illustrate the feelings people were having about the Cold War.

This is an iconic science fiction flick.  It was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress' Film Registry.  It has also made several appearances on the American Film Institute's (AFI) top movie lists: 100 Years...100 Thrills, 100 Years...100 Cheers, 10 Top 10, 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary List), 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains, 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes, and 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.  It also appears on countless other "top" films, specifically in science fiction categories.

Since the film is such a big part of popular culture 60+ years later, it is hard to be objective about the film.  It is a fascinating film and is a quintessential science fiction film.  Everyone, especially science fiction film fans, should watch this film.  Director Robert Wise was well-known for making science fiction films (although he made many successful and iconic films in other genres), and he and the rest of the production team made excellent choices with the cast and scenery.

In 2008, the film was remade with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly.  The remake makes some changes to the story, but it doesn't quite live up to the original.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) 92 minutes
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Michael Rennie as Klaatu
Patricia Neal as Helen Benson
Billy Gray as Bobby Benson
Hugh Marlowe as Tom Stephens
Sam Jaffe as Professor Jacob Barnhardt
Lock Martin as Gort